The former SNL cast member knew just how to dial up the absurdities of office culture.
Often when a former cast member returns to host Saturday Night Live, they trot out their greatest hits. And, sure, when Kristen Wiig took the stage for the fifth time last night, she did return to one of her favorite characters: cranky Aunt Linda, who never seems to understand the point of the movie she’s reviewing (unless that movie is Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie). But Wiig largely did new material, proving how unmatched she is at breathing life into kooky, unexpected characters. It almost felt like the absurdity had been building inside her like potential energy, waiting to be unleashed when she got to her old stomping grounds.
Take Tooty, for instance. In the sketch “Secretaries,” Wiig and Heidi Gardner played Tooty and Trudy, respectively, mid-century secretaries working in a law office for an attorney played by Jon Hamm. (Hamm was one of many special guests over the course of the episode, a sign of how beloved Wiig is.) The presence of Hamm implied that this was going to be a riff on Mad Men, and it was—though only to a point.
Tooty and Trudy looked to be alluring stereotypes of secretaries we’ve seen portrayed countless times in pop culture, but their behavior instead defied all expectations. Hamm’s character, Alan, had hired Tooty because Trudy kept making mistakes. Tooty, however, isn’t much better, opening her desk drawer to reveal that there’s a baby inside.
